VEGANS OF ALBERTA

WHAT'S A VEGAN?

Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

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What does that mean?

It starts with a plant based diet, that means a diet which is based on plants instead of animals. It includes vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruits. It excludes meat (including fish, shellfish, and insects), dairy, eggs, and honey, as well as any processed foods which contain animal derived ingredients. Vegans also avoid foods or drinks which were processed using animal products. Examples of foods processed with animal products include some beers, some wines, and cane sugar, not only white cane sugar, but also most brown sugar in North America. The third and final component to the vegan diet is the exploitation of animals in the production process. An example of this is slave monkeys used to gather coconuts from coconut trees, products containing coconuts from companies which use slave monkeys would not be considered vegan.

Approximately 97% of animal products are used for food. Of the remaining 3%, 2.7% is used for fashion and household products. Buying products which don't contain, weren't processed with, and which didn't exploit animals in any way during there production, extends beyond the diet.